In fishing, such as by trolling, casting or the like, plugs and other fishing lures are oftentimes moved through the water, which plugs or fishing lures have multiple hooks connected thereto. These attached fish hooks may comprise a fish hook with a single hook portion or with multiple hook portions, such as three hook portions spaced substantially equal distances apart. When such lures and suspended hook portions are pulled through the water, the hooks tend to hook onto weeds, logs, rocks and the like. Once the hooks make such contact and hook into the particular obstruction, then the fishing lures cannot be retrieved.
Thus it is advantageous to have a fish hook apparatus with a body that fits over the fish hook and the hook portion so that in normal movement through the water, and through weeds and around obstructions such as rocks and logs, the body portion shelters the hook portion from hooking into such obstructions. Yet the body portion has sufficient resilience or resilient force so that the body portion will move upon being bitten, grasped or forcefully contacted by a fish, so that the pointed end of the hook moves through the body and hooks the fish.
There are prior devices that provide related structures for doing this, such as are illustrated in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,739,517 and 3,815,274, and to a lesser degree as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,332,400; 2,522,292; 2,685,756; and 3,849,928. But my improved apparatus is different and has advantages over the foregoing, as will be apparent hereinafter.